More and more these days, it seems that it is politically incorrect to “label” someone as a loser. Nobody’s a loser – everyone’s a winner.  Or, one team finishes first, and the other team finishes second. Parents try hard to protect their children from acknowledging “losing” for fear of damaging their self-esteem. However, in a baseball game, clearly one team is the winner when that team scores more runs than the other team. We all can’t be winners every time. The fact is: In any kind of competition, someone is going to “win.”

However, “losing” doesn’t have to be bad. Kids need to learn  how to be good winners and good losers. What one might call “losing” is simply not reaching a particular goal – at that time. And, it teaches us to examine what we did, learn from our experience, and make changes for the next time around. Every experience – winning or losing – is an opportunity to learn something. And, it should be seen as such – not as a final defeat, rather as a lesson to be learned.

Philosophically speaking, though, we ARE all winners – when “winning” is synonymous with “personal victory,” when “winning” is synonymous with “success.” We all have “wins” everyday, and in that sense, we are all winners.

We get caught up in the semantics of winning and losing. We’re all winners and all losers at various points in our lives. But basically we get caught up in labeling. And most of the time, labels are usually both stereotypical and inaccurate .

I ran across a very interesting website and book called The 8 Colors of Fitness. Suzanne Brue is the author, and she has developed the 8 Colors of Fitness system. Its purpose is to help people make better exercise choices by understanding their fitness personality.

You can go to The 8 Colors of Fitness and take a short quiz to find out what your fitness personality is. It’s very fun, and you might get some insights into both the way you exercise and the way you interact (or not) with others.

Thanks to Mark for sending me the link to this 2-minute inspirational movie on the defining moments in our lives.

In a previous post entitled “Be Here Now,” I told you about a card that picked me when I was in a bookstore in Sun Valley, Idaho. The card read, “This is a new day, one that I have never lived before. I stay in the Now and enjoy each and every moment.”

When you focus on something, you will be amazed at the things that “come” to you in the way of connections. A simple example: If you’re thinking of getting a golden retriever, you will begin to see them all over the place. You didn’t really notice before how many different colors of golden retrievers there are, but now that you’re focused on it, you notice them everywhere.

I’ve been working on “being in the moment” more – and believe me, it takes practice. Right now is all we have – the past is gone, and the future is not here yet, so we don’t have either of those.

I’m not sure if Dan Millman came up with the phrase “No ordinary moments,” but it is with him that I associate that expression. When we are focused on right now, we see things we would otherwise miss if we are thinking about the past or the future.

As one way to be “in the moment,” I have taken a lesson from Fremont, my 90-lb golden retriever. (more…)

We listen to motivational audio programs. We pay to see and take courses with motivational speakers. We love motivational videos. But what exactly is it that motivates us?

Motivation varies from person to person. Perhaps it is the desire to

• lose weight
• look better
• get stronger
• prove something to yourself or someone else
• make more money
• be popular
• help people

Whatever the reason, the common denominator for everyone and every reason is “desire.”  We all are motivated by some desire to change what we are currently doing.

But what happens when the motivation wanes? Do you skip a workout? Do you eat that piece of cake? Do you spend your money instead of saving it? We all “fall off the wagon” every now and then. And that’s normal. But it’s getting back up again that’s the key.

The people who stay motivated have found that they don’t need any external motivation – that is, they don’t need to be motivated by someone else. They are motivated internally. They realize that the only person who can really motivate them is themselves.

So, I encourage you to examine your motivation – or lack of motivation. Reflect on what motivates you, and why (if so) you go through periods of low motivation. Awareness is essential to staying motivated.

Recently, someone asked me why I named my website “Running 4 Your Life.” You can read my explanation in my May 20th post entitled “Why Running 4 Your Life?”.

Back by popular demand. This past week, we had our second Live Teleseminar with running legend, Kathrine Switzer. If you were unable to make the call, you can listen to the replay of the Kathrine Switzer Teleseminar II.

And, if you would like to find out how you can spend 3 days with Kathrine at a Running and Walking Conference for Women, visit the Women on the Move website.

Kathrine has completed 35 marathons, her most famous being Boston in 1967 when she entered as KV Switzer and became the first woman wearing a number to run the traditionally all-male race. Irate race official Jock Semple tried to forcibly remove her from the race. Their encounter was captured in photos that appeared worldwide, and the incident became a watershed moment in the women’s running movement.

Here are a couple of the questions that were submitted for Kathrine to address: (more…)

When I was a kid, I could glance down in the yard and immediately find a 4-leaf clover. I found them all the time. I had quite the collection which I kept in a small photo album, usually 3 or 4 specimens pressed between the plastic sheets.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on the lookout for 4-leaf clovers, and I thought about that as I was walking Fremont along the Greenbelt this morning. I saw lots of clover patches, and I said to myself, “I know I’m going to find a 4-leaf clover today.” (more…)

I guess when you’ve been running long distances for awhile, it seems like no big deal to run 12-20 miles every Sunday. But to the average person, it probably seems a little crazy.

In late spring, I joined the coaching team for a local Run/Walk group. This group trains everyone – runners and walkers – in distances ranging from the 5K to the marathon. Needless to say, we have a wonderfully diverse group. And, because I do my long runs on Sunday, I am training the shorter distance athletes, mainly the 10K people, so that I can run with them for the shorter distances on Saturday and do my runs on Sunday.

As I work with the enthusiastic, dedicated folks – many of whom have never run a race before – I’m reminded of my early days of racing and training. (more…)

There’s something relaxing about going into a bookstore. I love that bookstores are places where you can have some hot tea while you sit and read for awhile.

Last week I was in a bookstore, and after I checked out, the bookseller behind the counter asked me if I would like to have a “card.” She fanned out about thirty 4 x 4 laminated cards for me to pick one. I’m not sure if I picked the card or the card picked me.

One side of the card read, (more…)